


grow old and happy with me

by wafflesofdoom



Category: Emmerdale
Genre: Established Relationship, Fluff, M/M, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, Valentine's Day
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-15
Updated: 2018-02-15
Packaged: 2019-03-18 23:48:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,587
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13692393
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wafflesofdoom/pseuds/wafflesofdoom
Summary: robert sugden was an old romantic at heart, prone making grand romantic gestures on days like valentines day and aaron - well, aaron wasn’t.but this year was different. this year, aaron was going to give his husband all the romance he deserved.





	grow old and happy with me

**Author's Note:**

> written for @kripkegirl on tumblr as part of the robron secret valentines exchange.

Aaron felt lucky, to love someone like Robert. His husband was one of those people who believed wholeheartedly in romance, who liked to randomly treat Aaron, who celebrated every tiny, nondescript anniversary, who’d go all out for the big ones.

Aaron loved it - loved all the little gestures, even loved the time Robert bought him flowers because, well, no one had ever bought him flowers before, had they?

He knew it wasn’t as if he didn’t show Robert he loved him. Aaron did, he knew he did - but this year, for the first Valentines Day they were going to spend as a married couple, he was going to go all out.

This year, Aaron Dingle was going to woo his own husband.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The beginning was the easiest bit, really. Breakfast in bed was the way to anyone’s heart, and especially Robert’s - Aaron wasn’t the best cook in the world, he knew his own limitations, but he could whip up a decent bacon sarnie and some scrambled eggs, not quite ready to try French toast without Robert’s close supervision.

Grinning to himself, Aaron arranged the food and the steaming mug of coffee on the tray (if he hadn’t woken up Robert with his cursing at the stupid, overpriced, overly complicated coffee machine, he’d take it as a win), heading for the stairs, keeping as quiet as he could.

He wanted to  _surprise_  Robert, not loudly announce his arrival while he was only halfway up the stairs. Nudging their bedroom door open with his shoulder, smiling to himself as he realised Robert was thankfully still sleeping.

It was probably a little creepy, Aaron decided, setting the tray down on Robert’s bedside locker, brushing Robert’s hair back off his forehead, pressing a kiss to his warm skin, but he always enjoyed watching Robert sleep - it was like a reminder, that he was the only one who got to see Robert like this, sleep soft and quiet, the only one who got to experience that endearing little sigh Robert would always let out as he woke, snuffling with his eyes squeezed shut until he felt like he could open his eyes.

“Mm.”

“Morning, sleeping beauty,” Aaron teased, sitting down on the edge of their bed. He’d tugged open the curtains already, early morning sunshine streaming into their bedroom, Robert’s hair golden in the bright light.

“Morning,” Robert replied, brushing a thumb over Aaron’s wrist as he slowly woke up, squinting at Aaron. “You been up a while?”

Aaron shook his head, gesturing to the tray on Robert’s bedside locker. “I was just making you breakfast,” he said, enjoying the way Robert’s face turned from a look of surprise, to one of pure joy.

“You made me breakfast in bed?” Robert shuffled into a sitting position, pillows squashed behind his back as he sat against the headboard. He looked adorable, like this (though Aaron wasn’t sure he’d ever willingly call Robert adorable to his face), his hair all ruffled and messy, the aftermath of his usual tossing and turning. Some things, you just never got used to, and Robert being a restless sleeper was one of those things - even now, years on, Aaron would curse his husband for kicking him awake, or tossing and turning so much in his sleep the movement would wake Aaron up.

(But then he’d wake up like this, sleepy and tired and soft in ways Aaron only ever got to know, and Aaron would forgive it all.)

“It’s Valentines Day, innit?” Aaron shrugged, gesturing toward the tray. “It’s nowt special.”

“You made it,” Robert said, picking up the mug of coffee, taking a grateful sip. Most mornings, Robert wasn’t even worth knowing before his first coffee of the day. “That makes it special.”

Aaron flushed at the compliment, shrugging it off with a roll of his eyes. “Go on, eat it before it gets cold,” he said, watching as Robert tugged the tray toward himself, switching the coffee out for his eggs.

“S’good,” Robert mumbled, holding a forkful of scrambled eggs out for Aaron to taste.

“Not bad,” Aaron said, chewing his mouthful of scrambled eggs. “It’s not quite your standards, though.”

“I’m happy as long as I don’t have to cook,” Robert grinned, taking a bit of his bacon sarnie, looking absolutely delighted with himself.

“I got you a card,” Aaron said, leaning across Robert’s body, rooting in his bedside locker for the slightly crumpled envelope he’d shoved in there the previous evening, having written it at the scrapyard when Robert had finally left for the day, and given him five minutes to himself.

“I love it,” Robert declared, setting his plate aside again.

“You haven’t read it yet!”

“I still love it,” Robert grinned, greedily taking the card from Aaron, easing it open. He always did that, Robert, open presents and cards carefully - Aaron was a rip the wrapper off kind of guy, but Robert eased open every piece of tape, and glue, trying to save the wrapping.

Aaron watched as Robert scanned the lettering on the card, no doubt trying to decipher Aaron’s terrible handwriting. He knew what it said, though - he’d been at his cheesy best, when he’d written it, telling Robert how much he loved him, how they were going to spend a day together, just the two of them.

“A whole day, just you and me?” Robert said, thumb brushing over Aaron’s hasty signature.

Aaron nodded, shuffling a little closer to Robert, putting a hand on Robert’s stomach, his palm warm against his husbands skin. “I’ve got plans,” he admitted. “You’re - you’re always making these big romantic gestures, and now it’s my turn.”

Robert smiled. “Your turn?”

Aaron returned the smile, nodding. “It’s my turn,” he confirmed, leaning in to press a kiss to Robert’s lips, the salty aftermath of his breakfast gritty against Aaron’s mouth.

“So I’m getting wined and dined today?” Robert inquired, tugging on the end of Aaron’s pyjama t-shirt, urging him to come and straddle Robert’s waist. It was funny, really - once upon a time, Aaron would have felt self conscious, sitting like this, every inch of him on view, but he didn’t even think about it now, not really - all he could think about was how warm Robert’s body was underneath his, how he could feel the hardening press of his husband’s dick against his inner thigh.

“You’re getting wined and dined,” Aaron confirmed, running a hand through Robert’s hair, tugging on the blond strands, enjoying the tiny moan that escaped Robert’s mouth at his action. “Among other things.”

Robert raised an eyebrow. “Other things?”

“None of it would be a surprise if I told you now, would it?” Aaron said, leaning in to press a gentle kiss to Robert’s lips, his husband keening against his touch, desperate for more.

“You’re a tease.”

“You love it,” Aaron said. “Now, are you ready for your first present?”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It took them longer than Aaron would have liked, to get out of the house. He blamed Robert’s arse for at least twenty minutes of the hour they were late - it was distractingly gorgeous, and Aaron was only human.

But they were out of the house, and they were on their way, and that was what counted. The sun was shining, brighter than he’d expected, considering it was only February, and he had Robert in his passenger seat, Fleetwood Mac pouring from his car speakers (Robert’s choice, of course, but Aaron didn’t hate it), and they were driving along a mostly empty road.

It was as close to bliss as you could get, really.

Aaron craved this, craved the time alone with Robert. They were busy people, both of them, and they didn’t get to do this often enough, didn’t get to ignore their phones and just indulge in each others company often enough.

“Are you going to tell me where we’re going?” Robert asked, glancing over. He was wearing his sunglasses, the new ones he’d bought on their honeymoon, a pair of classic Raybans that cost far too much money, but suited his husband to the ground, his crisp white shirt and leather jacket making him look all sorts of off duty model.

“You’ll figure it out,” Aaron replied, flicking on his indicator.

“You’re not complaining about the music,” Robert commented after a quiet few seconds, drumming his fingers against his knee, his phone balanced on his lap, hooked up to the radio.

“I don’t mind the music,” Aaron countered. “You’ve converted me, eventually.”

“My mum used to love Fleetwood Mac,” Robert said, offering a rare snippet of information about Sarah. Aaron didn’t know much about the woman who would have been his mother-in-law - he suspected he’d never know much about her, Robert always playing his memories close to his chest, but every so often now, he’d drop a tiny tidbit of information about the mother he’d lost far too young, and it always tugged at Aaron’s heartstrings in a way he couldn’t quite put words too.

“Yeah?”

Robert nodded. “Landslide was her favourite,” he continued.

“It’s my favourite, too,” Aaron admitted, turning into a familiar carpark. He caught the tiny smile on Robert’s face at his admission before it disappeared as quickly as it had come about, his confusion obvious.

“Why are we here?”

Aaron pulled his car into a parking space, switching off the engine, twisting in his seat so he could look at Robert. “It’s the first place we came on a date after we got back together,” he said, as though it was obvious.

“Yeah, and it was a disaster,” Robert looked uncomfortable. “We had a fight and didn’t talk the entire way home.”

“I don’t even remember what we were fighting about,” Aaron admitted. “But I do remember one thing.”

“What?”

“This was the first place we came on a real date, after everything, and even if we fought, even if it didn’t go perfectly - it was still a date, it was still us trying,” Aaron said. “I didn’t think we’d have the chance to try again, and when we came here, away from the village, to a place where we could just talk and eat and give us a try, I was so happy Robert.”

“You called me a flash twat and sat at a different table for twenty minutes,” Robert said wryly.

“I never claimed we were perfect,” Aaron laughed, knowing he was prone to throwing more than the occasional fit when it came to Robert, his husband having been on the receiving end of Aaron’s silent treatment more than once since they’d gotten back together.

“I still don’t get why here,” Robert admitted, looking at the restaurant. It was one of those gastro pubs, a place a half an hour from Emmerdale, forty minutes when traffic was heavy, a place they’d come because no one would know them there, no one would be judging them, no one would comment on how Aaron Dingle was going back to his arsehole husband again.

“Because it was a shit date, but it didn’t stop us trying, did it? We’ve been together ever since, no breakups, nothing,” Aaron said, pressing a thumb against Robert’s wedding ring, the metal cool to touch. “We did it right this time, and I wanted you to remember that today - that we’re better this time around.”

“We really are, aren’t we?” Robert said, Aaron’s words sinking in, washing over him the way Aaron had hoped they would. He’d put a lot of thought into where they would go today, and he wanted Robert to understand his reasoning.

“We are,” Aaron confirmed, giving Robert’s hand a squeeze. “They’ve got fish and chips on the menu today.”

“The fish and chips were good here, weren’t they?” Robert didn’t move to unbuckle his seatbelt, get out of the car.

Aaron nodded. “I can’t wine and dine you if we sit in the car, you know.”

Robert smiled, clicking open his seat belt, pocketing his phone. “Lead the way then, Mr Sugden.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“Here, really?” Robert raised an eyebrow as they approached Robert’s favourite coffee shop, the one he always stopped at whenever they were in Leeds. It was a little hipster-y for Aaron’s tastes, if he was being honest, but his husband loved it, loved the coffee from there.

(A bag of coffee beans from the little corner shop always made for a good present when Robert needed cheering up, too.)

“I told you, I’m wining and dining you today - and that includes coffee,” Aaron said, holding the door open and gesturing for Robert to walk in ahead of him.

“Always the gentleman, you,” Robert teased, stepping into the warmth of the coffee shop, the smell of the coffee overwhelming after their short walk in the brisk February cold.

“I try,” Aaron replied. “Get it take away, yeah?”

“Why?”

“Because my Valentines present to you is going shopping,” Aaron said, hooking a finger through one of Robert’s belt loops as they queued, wanting his husband close. The cafe was decorated with all sorts of Valentine’s faff, pink and red hearts strung up behind the counter, and normally, Aaron would have turned his nose up at it all, but he didn’t mind so much this year.

It was the first Valentine’s in a long time where he was in a good place with his romanic life, the first Valentine’s he was spending with Robert that actually felt carefree, that felt like a celebration of their love. Before prison, before the wedding - Valentines had just felt like another one of those days he was inevitably going to miss when he got banged up.

And last year, with Alex, and Robert… well, this year was better, that was all there was to it.

“You, willingly going shopping? I must be dreaming!” Robert declared dramatically.

Aaron grinned. “And I won’t even complain the entire time.”

Robert feigned shock. “It’s like I’ve woken up married to a different man.”

Aaron laughed, pressing a soft kiss to Robert’s cheek. “I draw the line when it comes to watching you try on eighteen of the same shirt, though.”

“That was one time, and the shirt came in four colours, I had to see which I liked best!” Robert protested. “Anyway, you said you’re going to buy me something, it’s got to be something I like.”

Aaron rolled his eyes, but didn’t bother trying to argue the point anymore. I was worth it, for the smile on Robert’s face when he sat in the dressing rooms of shop after shop, nodding along as Robert tried on endless amounts of clothes, pretending to look interested and flashing his debit card when Robert attempted to pay for himself.

He liked to treat his husband.

Aaron  **really**  liked to treat his husband.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Robert was grinning even before Aaron stopped the car in a familiar lay-by, this one needing no explanation whatsoever.

“This brings back a lot of memories,” Robert murmured, fingers digging into Aaron’s thigh as he brought the car to a stop, the urgency in his touch unmissable as Aaron switched off the engine, twisting in his seat so he could look at Robert properly.

“We’ve come so far since then, haven’t we?” Aaron said, thinking back on that first day in the lay-by, the first kiss they’d shared. It had hardly been smooth sailing, since then, but Aaron wasn’t so sure he’d change any of it.

No, no - he wouldn’t change a single second of it, because it had ended with them here, married and in love and the happiest they had ever been, with a real future ahead of them.

“We have,” Robert hummed his agreement, tangling his fingers with Aaron’s. “Thank you, for today - you’ve made me feel really special.”

“Yeah?”

Robert nodded. “Yeah,” he confirmed. “You really know how to treat a guy, don’t you?”

“Only you,” Aaron said, squeezing Robert’s hand tightly. “Only ever you.”

“Always and forever,” Robert said. “Happy Valentines Day, Aaron.”

“Happy Valentines Day, Robert.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“So after all that, we’re going home?” Robert said, looking at Aaron from the passenger seat of the car, a curious look on his face.

“I’ve got my reasons,” Aaron said, parking his car in its usual spot. “Trust me, yeah?”

“I do, always,” Robert said, easing himself out of Aaron’s car, the night air cool around them as the wind whipped up, making them both shiver.

(Or maybe it had been Robert’s words that had made them shiver, the weight of his trust heavy in ways that felt comforting now, rather than scary.)

“I thought about booking a hotel,” Aaron admitted, the bags with Robert’s shopping in held tightly in one hand as he unlocked the door, stepping into the welcome warmth of their home.

The home they’d built together.

“I do love a good hotel,” Robert admitted, sitting on the back of the couch as Aaron set the shopping bags down.

“I know you do,” Aaron said. “But I - well, I wanted today to be about us, and ending it here felt right.”

“Why?” Robert sounded curious now.

“You poured your heart and soul into this place, all for me, just so I would have a place to call home when I got out of prison,” Aaron said, gaze flickering around their open plan living-dining room, family photos and art on the walls. “It’s not all happy memories, here.”

“Nowhere is all happy for us,” Robert said, voice tinged with sadness as he spoke.

“No, that’s true,” Aaron hummed his agreement. “But I don’t think about the sad memories, when I’m here.”

“What do you think about?”

“I think about how lucky I am, to have a home - a home filled with people I love,” Aaron said. “A home my husband built for me, a home you lost sleep over, just to make sure it was perfect. I think about all the times you’ve made me dinner here, all the times you’ve made me laugh - all the times we’ve sat and watched shit telly together.”

“We’ve had a lot of good times here,” Robert agreed, a soft smile on his face.

“And we’re going to have a lifetime more,” Aaron said, coming to stand between Robert’s legs, his hands on his husbands shoulders. “I love you for so many reasons, Robert.”

“Tell me a few,” Robert almost pleaded, hands holding tightly to Aaron’s hips, fingers knotting in the material of Aaron’s t-shirt.

“I love you because you make me laugh, even when you’re being a prat,” Aaron said. “I love you because you make me try new things, even when I don’t want to. I love you because - because since the day we got back together, I’ve never once doubted that you were in this forever.”

“I am, Aaron - you’re all I’m ever going to want,” Robert said, clearly worried some of Aaron’s old insecurities were coming to the fore again.

But they weren’t.

Aaron was a different man now, they both were.

“I know,” Aaron reassured. “You want to know why I ended today here, though?”

Robert nodded.

“Because I love you for the life you’ve given me, Robert,” Aaron said. “The breakfast together in the mornings, the watching shit telly together, the house, the holidays  -  the arguing over laundry. It’s everything I never thought I would get to have, the husband and the house and the white picket fence. I love you because you’ve given me a happily ever after, haven’t you?”

Robert let out a surprised laugh, wiping at his teary eyes. “God I - I don’t know what to say, Aaron.”

“You could say you love me,” Aaron offered, smiling at his tearful husband.

“I do, I love you,” Robert said. “More than I even have words for. I wrote you a card this morning, and I - I thought it said it all, I thought it summed up just how much you mean to me, but you’ve made me realise a card is never going to be enough. I don’t think anything ever will, honestly.”

“I don’t need things,” Aaron said. “I just need you.”

“I know, I know that,” Robert said, gesturing at his chest, pushing Aaron back a little so he could stand up, the two of them nose to nose now, Aaron able to count every freckle, see every tear that was still threatening to fall. “But sometimes I just - I wish I could put into words how you make me feel, how much getting another chance with you means. You’ve given me a family, a place where I can live my life and actually be true to who I am.”

The affair. Being closeted.

Aaron knew what he meant without Robert even needing to say it, to put it into words.

He knew, he always knew now.

“We’re going to be happy together forever, you and me,” Aaron said, hugging Robert close to him. “Happy Valentines Day, Mr Dingle.”

Robert kissed him, kissed him like the action could say it all, like it was exactly what he was put on this earth to do - and some days, Aaron wondered if that were the case, if their sole purpose in life was to love each other, endlessly and absolutely and forever.

He wouldn’t mind, really, if his reason for being was Robert, if he’d always been destined to meet, and be frustrated with, and deeply, hopelessly, madly love the blond man who’d entered his life like a whirlwind, and turned every inch of it upside-down in the years since.

“Happy Valentines Day, Mr Sugden.”

 

 

 

And a very happy Valentine’s Day it was.

 

 

 

 

 

 

**fin**

 


End file.
